‘Soodhu Kavvum 2’ move review: Shiva’s irreverence cannot save this insipid comedy

A still from ‘Soodhu Kavvum 2’

The chase is on. A police car is in hot pursuit of a vehicle full of robbers, who are trying to escape with their loot. The vehicle veers takes a short turn, with the police car out of view but still in hot pursuit.

And at that time, Gururaj (Shiva) tells his colleagues what he thinks is a masterstroke. “The police will be in a hurry. When we lose sight of them for a second, just pull over.” They do so, parking safely on the roadside among other vehicles, while the police car speeds on, thinking the robbers have gone ahead.

This irreverent move by the robbers – and the way the entire sequence is conceptualised – sets the stage for Soodhu Kavvum 2, Had this film – written and directed by SJ Arjun – taken off from there, it could have become a mad, fun ride but alas, it does not. There are but a few moments to savor, while the rest are just fillers, much like a chips packet that has more air than chips.

But first, let’s go back to the beginning. The original Soodhu Kavvum, directed by Nalan Kumarasamy and released in 2013, was refreshing because it had genuine laugh-riot moments. Plus, the crime-comedy genre was still largely untapped by filmmakers. Featuring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead, it went on to become a huge success. Many celebrities, including Soodhu Kavvum 2 Lead actor Shiva himself, has described it a ‘cult classic’.

But the second part is a far cry from the first. There are hat tips to the 2013 superhit — it packs in characters with similar traits and features an imaginary girlfriend, things that make us nostalgic about the first part and the times we lived in. But beyond that, there is nothing much in Soodhu Kavvum 2 that will make your 2024 any better.

A still from ‘Soodhu Kavvum 2’

The film, in its essence, is a political satire, with a storyline that probably reads: “An honest politician slips into coma and things go astray in his absence. Can he return to bring peace and justice to society?” But this forms but a minor part of the proceedings, with a kidnappers angle and a revenge-seeking cop thrown in for good measure.

There are decent performances. Shiva is mildly funny, the same way he has been in most of his earlier work. Nothing more, nothing less. As a wily politician, Karunakaran gets good screentime and utilizes it to a large extent. But none of that helps push Soodhu Kavvum 2 beyond what it is: a mindless comedy that doesn’t even try to push the envelope. Worse, it repeats many of the tropes from its source material that released 11 years ago.

And that brings us to the most burning question: why even bother making sequels when one can write much better original content? Agreed, there’s the temptation to lure audiences with expectations from a previous hit, but for that to succeed, there needs to be some meat in the new film.

There’s none of that in Soodhu Kavvum 2. There are more sequels in the works in Tamil cinema, we hear. We are not waiting.